My friend, Bob Franquiz, does this thing every year during Pastor Appreciation Month which I love where he posts something honoring a pastor that has meant a lot to him. I stole his idea followed his lead last year by posting on Facebook about my appreciation for Rick Warren.

This year I’d like to express my deep appreciation for Billy Graham.

I never met Billy Graham which I guess isn’t too surprising. Sadly, I never got to see him preach in one of his crusades either. I regret that.

While I had always vaguely known about Billy Graham, I never really paid him much attention. Before I gave my life to Christ, I didn’t really understand much about the man or his ministry. After I gave my life to Christ, I had a better grasp of what he was all about but I just wasn’t that interested for whatever reason. I mean, I respected that he was an important and influential evangelist that was having a big impact, but I just never really connected with him or his preaching.

All that changed in a big way for me when I read a book entitled The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham. I’m not sure what prompted me to read this particular book but I was floored by it. I learned so much about this amazing man of God, his mission, his faithfulness, his ministry, and, yes, his leadership.

In the past, when I read books like this, I’d always have a yellow highlighter in hand to mark anything I found particularly interesting, meaningful, or useful. (I’ve since moved on to these wonderful pencils.) Well, by the time I finished this book, it was basically dripping in yellow ink. I think I had more sentences highlighted than not.

This book is probably the best book on leadership I’ve ever read. Not just the best book on spiritual leadership, mind you, but the best book on leadership.

I think it’s such a great book because it’s about such a great man.

That’s the thing about Billy Graham. You might tempted to think of him as just a great preacher. (He’s preached to more people in person than any other individual in history, by the way.) But the thing that’s so intriguing about him is that the further you dig into the man, his background, how he lead, and what he accomplished, the more impressed you’ll become.

He was a fantastic leader that had to navigate a lot of cultural changes and spiritual storms over the many years of his ministry, and he did so in such honorable, courageous, and remarkable ways.

In his highly-acclaimed book on leadership, Good to Great, Jim Collins talks about “level 5 leaders” and the impact they can have. When I read that book, which is outstanding by the way, I was trying to imagine how a level 5 leader would operate and lead on a day-to-day basis. One day as I was reading The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham, it hit me; Billy Graham was an amazing level 5 leader. He was the total package, and he was a spiritual leader too!

I’ve gone from being casually aware of the man to being something of a fan. He was truly a giant among preachers, although he was always so incredibly humble and would probably hate me describing him in such a way.

Again, I never met him, but his personal example, along with the rich legacy of his sermons and writings, has impacted me very much.

I even listen to him on his Sirius XM channel when driving around. I know that might sound a little overboard or something, but I’m continually amazed at how much these sermons recorded over the decades (some from as far back as the 50s) still inspire, convict, encourage, and fill the air with the presence of God.

If you know nothing about Billy Graham or just a little bit about him, this documentary is a wonderful introduction. It’s well worth your time.

I’d also recommend visiting the Billy Graham Library if you ever get the chance. It’s a beautiful place that features a walk-through exhibit about Billy’s life and ministry that’s very well done. His childhood home has been relocated there as well, and it’s very interesting to see everything preserved there.

Billy Graham died in 2018 at the age of 99. He was a faithful servant of God until the very end. What a testimony. What a life. What an example.

So on this Pastor Appreciation Month, I’d just like to say, “Thank you, Billy! You’ve impacted my life and ministry in major ways! I deeply appreciate all you sacrificed to follow the call of God on your life.”